Is an EFC of 10000 good?

Most schools do not meet 100% of financial need for all of their students. If your EFC is $10,000, your financial aid package may still require you to pay $12,000, $15,000 or $20,000, depending on the tuition and expenses each college charges. Insights into how colleges determine how to award you aid.

How much money do you get if your EFC is 0?

Any person with an EFC number at 0 will receive the maximum amount of student aid, while a number over 5273 will result in no aid at all. The numbers, and the amount awarded, fluctuate annually. The closer you can get to zero, the more federal dollars you’ll have to help pay for tuition and fees.

Will I get a Pell Grant if my EFC is 0?

With an EFC of 0, you can be sure of receiving the maximum allowed Pell Grant for the year ($6345 for 2021) as well as qualifying for the maximum government subsidized loan.

What is a good EFC score?

The overall average EFC is about $10,000, with an average of about $6,000 for students at community colleges and $14,000 at 4-year colleges. Slightly more than half of students have an EFC of $2,500 or less. Slightly more than 10% have an EFC greater than $25,000.

How do I lower my FAFSA EFC?

Legal Ways to Reduce Your Expected Family Contribution

  1. Maximize Household Size. The larger your household size is, the lower your EFC will be (in most cases).
  2. Increase College Attendance Among Family Members.
  3. Wait Until the FAFSA Considers You Independent.

How do I get my EFC to zero?

If the adjusted gross income of the student’s parents is low enough, you automatically get 0. For 2021-2022, that number was $27,000 or below on your 2019 income tax return. If your income is below $49,999, your family qualifies for a simplified needs test.

What is the lowest EFC for financial aid?

Zero
Generally speaking, the lower the EFC, the higher the financial aid award will be. Zero is the lowest EFC number (indicating that the family cannot afford to pay anything) and 999,999 is the highest.

What does an EFC of 6000 mean?

This means that you will not get sufficient financial aid at MOST schools to cover the Cost of Attendance minus your aid. In other words…there will be a “gap” which you will also need to fund.

What do I do if my EFC is too high?

5 ways to pay for college when the EFC from your FAFSA isn’t affordable

  1. Brainstorm with your parents.
  2. Negotiate with your potential schools.
  3. Apply for state grants and private scholarships.
  4. Start a part-time job or side hustle.
  5. Consider federal and private loans.

What is the maximum EFC to be eligible for a Pell Grant?

The maximum expected family contribution (EFC) eligible for a Pell Grant for the 2021–22 Award Year is 5846 as compared to 5711 for the 2020–21 Award Year.

What does an EFC of zero mean?

If a dependent students’ family’s income is less than $24,000 and government assistance was needed for that filing year, the EFC will automatically be zero. A zero means a family has no ability to contribute to the student’s education. EFC is calculated from answers on the FAFSA, usually income ranking heaviest.

What is a good EFC number?

Good EFC number is 0 if you want the most financial aid. If you have 0 EFC, federal, state, and institution will give you the max aid allowed under their their specific guidelines.

What is a good EFC?

A “good” EFC score, meaning that you are eligible for the most aid is, zero . Generally, the lower your EFC score, the more aid you are eligible for. Additionally, students with a zero EFC score will also be eligible for different types of aid, specifically grants that do not need to be paid back.

What is expected Family Contribution (EFC)?

The Expected Family Contribution or EFC is a measure of a family’s financial strength. It is the amount of money the government perceives a family can contribute to their student’s educational expenses for a particular year. It is an estimate, NOT the amount the family is expected to pay.

What is a high EFC?

If you have a high EFC, it means the feds think your family will be able to cover a bigger portion of your cost of a higher education —especially if your EFC is more than the cost of the college your student is attending. In those cases, the government assumes your family can afford all the costs of college.